Dress anchor



oct. 17, l1961 C. FORNS 3,004,263

DRESS ANCHOR Filed March 27, 1959 INVENTOR. CARMEN FORNS ATTUNEYS 3,004,263 DRESS ANCHR Carmen Ferns, Young Road, Katonah, NY. Filed Mar. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 302,429 4 Claims. (Si. 2-74) This invention relates to devices for holding loosely itting garments against the body and, more particularly, to a new and improved anchor arranged to hold the neckline of a dress against the body regardless of the position of the wearer.

Frequently, when it is desired to hold a loosely fitting dress or other garment in place against the body of the wearer, as along the neckline, for example, stiening de vices are inserted along the edge or neckline of the dress. Another conventional way of holding a garment against the body is to provide an elastic band extending along the edge of the garment. Often, however, these devices are uncomfortable for the wearer and, in many instances, they detract from the style and appearance of the dress. Moreover, the use of snaps, safety pins, and the like, to attach the garment to an undergarment is time-consuming and tends to constrict the -wearers freedom of motion.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved garment anchor which is free of the above-mentioned disadvantages.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garment anchor of the above character arranged for quick and efficient positioning when the garment is put on.

A further object ofthe invention is to provide an anchor which can be attached easily at any desired location on the garment.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by attaching a retaining member, such as a thin strip of relatively stiff material, to the garment by means of a exible joint so that the strip can be slipped under the edge of an undergarment when the garment is put on. Preferably, the joint is attached near the edge of the garment at a location which will be adjacent to the edge of an undergarment when the garment is put on. If desired, the retaining member may be encased in a fabric sleeve attached at one end near the edge of the garment and extending a short distance between the point of attachment and the end of the retaining member to form the flexible joint.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view showing the outside of a dress having a neckline held in place by an anchor arranged according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view illustrating the inside of the dress shown in FIG. 1 and showing the attachment of the anchor;

FIG. 3 is a sectional View taken on the lines 3--3 of FIG. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 showing another form of anchor arranged according to the invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the garment comprises a dress which is made of the usual material and may be tailored to `fit the body 11 of a wearer or may be of the loosely tting type. It will be understood that other garments, such as blouses, and the like, may `also be held in place by anchors in accordance with the invention.

Along its upper end, the dress has a neckline 12 following a path extending generally between the two shoulder areas 13 and 14 of the wearer. The specific path of the neckline is determined by the current fashions, in some cases being off the shoulders 13 and 14 and relatively lo-w in the center area x15 and, in other instances, being completely on the shoulders and higher in the center. More- 3,6%253 Fatented Oct. 17, 1961 over, in certain instances, the neckline does not pass over the shoulder areas 13 and 114 but instead goes underneath the arms 16 and 17 of the wearer, support being provided by a relatively tight iit about the waist or across the back of the wearer.

As a consequence of these fashionable neckline contours, the upper portion of the dress 10 is supported only at the shoulder areas 13 and 14 or beneath the arms 16 and 1'7 of the wearer and the central portion 15 of the neckline 12 may be relatively loose with respect to the body of the wearer. Accordingly, unless uncomfortable stiifening devices or elastic bands lare inserted in the neckline, it will tend to fall away fromthe body when the wearer bends forwardly, for example.

In accordance with the invention, an anchor 1S arranged to be position beneath a relatively close fitting undergarment, such as a brassiere 19, is attached to a dress near the neckline 12 at the area 15 which tends to fall away from the body. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the anchor 18 comprises a retaining member consisting of a thin strip of relatively stiff material 2t), such as a piece of conventional corset bone, secured to the inside of the ldress 1t) by a exible joint 21. Preferably, the stiff retaining member 20' is about three or four inches long and one-half to one inch wide, providing a large enough area so that it will be held in place between the undergarment 19 and the body 11 of the wearer while, at the same time permitting some relative motion with respect thereto.

In order to facilitate the insertion of the retaining member beneath the undergarment, the joint 21 is Sufficiently flexible so that the member may be turned to any orientation with respect to the dress. To this end, the joint may consist of a short piece of fabric, such as binding tape or the like, extending a short distance, for example, about one-quarter of an inch from one end 22 of the member 20 to a point 23 where it is fastened to the dress as by stitching. Thus, the binding tape may be twisted or turned in any manner to allow insertion of the retaining member while, at the same time, providing a close connection between the retaining member and the dress.

The point of attachment 23 of the joint 21 and the dress 10 should be selected to coincide with the usual location of the edge of the undergarrnent 19 to be worn with the dress and also should be at a position where comfortable and convenient insertion of the retaining member is possible. In addition, the point of attachment 23 must be spaced from the neckline 12 by a distance approximately equal to the length of the joint 21 from the end 22 of the retaining member to the point 23 if the anchor 18 is to be fully concealed while the dress is worn.

If desired, the material forming the joint 21 may be extended around the member 20 along its entire length to form a sleeve 24, as illustrated in FIG. 3. On the other hand, the tape forming the joint may be attached at the end 22 of the retaining member by a fastener, such as a rivet Z5, for example.

Normally, after the dress 10 has been put on, the anchor 18 lies between the dress and the undergarment or extends upwardly, as viewed in the drawings, across the neckline 12,. In either case, because of the exibility of the joint 21, the anchor can be put in position by turning the retaining member 20 so that it lies along the edge of the undergarment and then turning it down beneath the undergarment to the retaining position illustrated in FIG. 1.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments, many modifications and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the anchor may be made of relatively stiff ber material or the like rather than corset bone and it may be used to hold the back of the dress in place along the undergarment as Well as the front. Moreover, if desired, the anchor may be utilized to hold other areas of the garment, not necessarily along the edges, in place. Accordingly, all such variations and modications are included Withinthe intended scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

l claim:

l. An anchor arranged to hold the edge of a garment close to the body of a wearer comprising a relatively stiff retaining member adapted to be tucked beneath an edge of an undergarment, and a short ilexible joint associated with the retaining member and the garment so as to attach one Vend of the retaining member to the inside of the garment to hold it in closely adjacent relation to the garment at a location adjacent to the edge of the undergarment when Worn and arranged to permit the retaining member to be moved to any orientation with respect to the garment, the ilexible joint being attached to the garment at a point spaced from the edge of the garment by a distance at least as great as the length of the joint from the end of the retaining member to the point of attachment.

2. An anchor according to claim l wherein the retaining member comprises a length of corset bone.

3. An anchor according to claim 1 -Wherein the ilexible joint comprises a fabric sleeve enclosing the retaining member and connected at one end to the inside of the garment.

4. An anchor according to claim l wherein the flexible joint comprises a strip of fabric connected to one end of the retaining member and to the inside of the garment.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 718,899 Ben Jan; 20, 1903 2,239,056 Schiffer Apr. 22, 1941 2,830,298 Shapiro et al Apr. l5, 1958 FOREGN PATENTS 963,571 France Jan. 4, 1950 

